Unravelling
by InLoveWithLaughing
Summary: With study clubs to "run", Voldemort coming back, mysterious notes ending up in his bag and trying to befriend The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has enough on his plate in his fifth year of school without having to deal with Daphne-f*cking-Greengrass practically stalking him. ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

_This is for two competitions,_ the first chapter is for HollyPotter28_'s _All the Pairings Challenge, _then all the chapters from there are for_Oneofthosepeopleonthestreet_'s _What If? Competition. _I'm not giving up on Harry's Houses, it will be updated soon (touchwood)._

Description: With study clubs to "run", Voldemort coming back, mysterious notes ending up in his bag and trying to befriend The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has enough on his plate in his fifth year of school without having to deal with Daphne-fucking-Greengrass practically stalking him.

Rating: T

_Disclaimer: Keeping it simple, Harry Potter is not mine._

_Fifth Year_

Sirius stared at the paper in front of him, his eyes full of unshed tears. A lump was stuck in his throat, he could hear the blood pounding in his ears and his breath came quick and shallow. His hands shook, and the words shook in response. But not enough. He could still see them. Even when he closed his eyes they were there.

**Disgrace.**

**Never want to see you again.**

**Not my son.**

He'd been expecting it. Enraging his mother had been the reason he'd snogged a muggle-born in front of Regulus. He just hadn't expected it to hurt so much.

A single tear fell down his cheek, and he wiped it away viciously, he'd sworn a long time ago he wouldn't cry because of his mother ever again. But a traitorous second tear followed, then a third and a forth, and before he knew it he was choking on sobs, his face was wet and his nose was running.

Suddenly there was a quiet knock at the door. Sirius shoved the sleeve of his robes in his mouth, trying to muffle the sound of his sobs. He'd chosen the Transfiguration classroom to read his letter because he thought nobody would come in at this time in the evening. But Lily Evans stood in the doorway, intruding on his current haven without a care in the world.

She stuck her head around the door, looking around. For a moment he thought she wouldn't see him, hidden behind desks like he was, but her next words crushed this hope, "You don't have to stop crying because I'm here, Sirius,"

She closed the door and sat next to him on the dusty floor. She didn't say anything at first, just wrapped an arm around Sirius' shoulders and pulled him against her soft body. This simple act of kindness was too much for Sirius, who broke down in tears again. They were the horrible sort, all snot and gurgling moans, years of holding back coming out the only way they could.

When he'd finally cried himself out, Sirius was embarrassed. He'd made a disgusting wet, sticky patch on Lily's robes and was sure he looked a mess. He was right, but Lily didn't care. She just did a quick cleaning spell on her robes and handed him a packed of pocket tissues. He mopped his face up, using most of the pack then threw them in the bin near to him.

"I'm sorry," were the first words Sirius said.

Lily hated the way his voice sounded, so hollow and miserable. She wrapped her other arms around him and hugged him tightly, saying, "Don't apologise, darling." The endearment slipped from her lips accidently, but she was glad she said it when Sirius hugged her back.

"Now, you want to tell me why you were crying?"

Sirius handed her the letter wordlessly. To his surprise, when she finished reading it she didn't look disgusted, instead she looked furious. Her hands clenched, crumpling the parchment up, and her eyes filled with angry tears.

"Your mum's a bitch!"

Sirius was so surprised he laughed, then sighed, then gave another weak sob.

"It's my own fault," he said, "I annoyed her on purpose,"

"So? I annoy Petunia on purpose all the time, but it doesn't mean she has any right to say things like this to me," Lily said. Then, when Sirius didn't reply, "Why did you want to annoy her?"

Sirius shrugged, "She hasn't sent me a letter all year, I thought I'd remind her that I exist,"

"Oh Sirius,"

"We're all about the hugs today, aren't we?" Sirius joked weakly as Lily pulled him into yet another hug. "You know, for somebody who doesn't like me, you're very touchy-feely, what would you do if you did like me?"

"Shut up, Sirius. And I do like you, I just don't like your actions sometimes."

Sirius raised his head, intending to make another joke, but stopped when he realised how close they were. He could make out each individual eyelash surrounded her enchanting green eyes. She had seven freckles on her nose. There was a small scar on her chin in the shape of a crescent moon. A couple strands of red hair were caught on her lips, which were parted ever so slightly. Her breath smelt of chocolate.

She laughed awkwardly and pulled away. Sirius missed her.

"So, where are you going to stay?" Lily said.

"What do you mean?"

"In the letter it says you shouldn't come back for the holidays, where are you going to stay?"

"She always says that, but she never means it. I'll give a bit of time to cool down, then tell her I'm going to James'. She hates the Potters, the only thing worse than me going home would be going there,"

"Oh. Your family's a little bit nuts,"

"Do you think I'm nuts?"

The look on her face answered the question.

"Right, thanks,"

"Not in a bad way," Lily said quickly.

"How can you be crazy in a good way? I'm just like them," Sirius knew he sounded childish and desperate, but he couldn't help it, he was childish and desperate.

"No, you're not. They're completely batty, you've just got a little bit of basic craziness, it makes you interesting,"

"You think I'm interesting?"

Lily blushed and looked away.

"Lily?"

Lily looked over and blushed even harder when she saw Sirius was close once again. He felt his heart jump as her face turned red, and, without thinking, put his finger up to trace the line of her jaw. Her breath hitched and she blinked fast, but she didn't pull away.

Sirius leant in and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't anything special, not even a real kiss really, just his lips against hers, but all thoughts of home fled his mind and all he could concentrate on was her.

When she still didn't pull away he kissed her more fiercely, allowing his lips to part. It was an awkward position, and the floor was hard and uncomfortable, but none of that mattered when Lily made a soft, breathy sound that made his whole body thrum with energy.

"No, wait," She said, pulling away a couple of centimetres.

Sirius could barely understand what she was saying. Her lips were red and her eyes shone, she was breathing hard and he was suddenly aware of her chest pressed against his own.

"No, no waiting," Sirius said, moving in again.

"No, Sirius, stop,"

She stood up and away, putting a desk between them.

"Why?" Sirius said, getting up.

"Why are you doing this? Why did you kiss me?" Lily said.

"I- I don't know,"

"Exactly," Her voice was gentle but firm, "You just want some comfort, a distraction. I don't want to be a distraction, Sirius."

She walked away from him.

Sirius wanted to follow her, wanted to press her up against the wall and make her forget like she made him forget. But he wasn't about to force her. He would never do that. He waited until her footsteps died away then walked out of the classroom. And immediately into Remus.

Sirius' eyes widened and his face reddened, he knew he looked guilty as hell.

Remus watched him carefully, his face both disapproving and sympathetic.

"Are you alright?" Remus said finally, "You weren't at dinner and we were all worried,"

"Yeh, I just wanted to read my letter," Only then did Sirius realise Lily still had the letter.

Thinking this lead onto thoughts about kissing her. Remus' expression told Sirius that he knew exactly what he was thinking, but he didn't say anything about it.

"We better get back to the dorm, you need to wash your face,"

Sirius nodded and followed him back to the dorm in silence. Thankfully they didn't meet anyone on the way, so Sirius had plenty of time to figure out what to say to Remus.

Once he'd washed his face he sat on the bed opposite him, waiting until Remus put down his book to speak.

"About what you saw-"

"Let's not talk about it," Remus said, "You and I both know Lily is out of bounds, we'll agree that it won't happen again and won't saying anything more about it, okay?"

"Okay."

But Sirius didn't want it not to happen again. He suddenly wanted Lily more than he'd wanted any other girl before. It was just his luck that his best friend was in love with her.

_November 25th 1979_

Sirius stopped outside his apartment, his hand on the doorknob. Somebody was inside. He flicked his wrist, sending his wand shooting from its holder into his hand, and opened the door quietly. The light was on and the smell of bolognaise hit him, making his stomach rumble loudly and his mouth water. He walked in cautiously, and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw who was sitting at his table.

Lily Evans, she would never be Lily Potter to him, was certainly not of the list of people he would have thought would break into his apartment.

"Sirius, I'm glad your back, I wasn't sure if a heating charm would ruin the food, but I didn't want to let it get cold," She said, as if she always made his dinner for him.

"It doesn't ruin the food," was the only thing Sirius could say.

He walked to the table and sat down opposite. He stared at her, and she stared back. He finally tore his eyes away, and stabbed his fork into the mush on his plate.

"Is this edible?"

Lily laughed, snorting slightly like she always did, "I'm not _that _bad a cook, Sirius."

Sirius was too wise to disagree.

He ate a mouthful and it was terrible. Somehow this made the pain in his chest grow even worse. He wondered if she'd be offended if he didn't eat anymore, then cursed himself for caring.

"What are doing here, Lily?" He said finally.

"What? Am I not allowed to visit my friend?"

"Don't. Don't do that. Don't act like we're friends, we both know you should be at home with your husband,"

"Well, maybe I don't want to be," Lily said, pouting like a child.

"Why? Did you have a fight?" Sirius hated himself for feeling a thrill at these words.

"No, nothing like that. I just, I was looking at photos from school, and I saw one of me in fifth year, and if got me thinking…"

Sirius froze; she was dangerously close to mentioning _that _kiss. They never mentioned _that _kiss. It was one of their unspoken rules, the next being they were never alone together.

Lily dipped her finger in her wine and put it in her mouth deliberately, keeping her eyes locked on Sirius' as she sucked it clean.

Sirius wondered if this was sexy or funny. Then he wondered what movie she got it from. Her tongue flicked out to catch a drop on her lip.

Sirius knew if she kept this up he was going to crack.

"I think you should leave," Sirius said, shoving himself up and walking to the window. He hoped Lily would just walk out. This evening would be just another thing he'd pretend to forget.

She didn't. He was glad.

_December 24th 1979_

Sirius felt a strong sense of deja-vu as he waited outside his flat, wondering who was there. This time when he opened it there was no spaghetti, no light, but there was a Lily. He could see her dark form, silhouetted against the stormy night as she leant against the window.

He switched the light on, and stared. The scene was so different to the one a month ago. No tantalising smile. No glint in her eyes. No low-cut top and tight trousers. Just a pale face. Red eyes. Tear tracks down her freckled cheeks.

"What's wrong?" He said.

Her tongue darted out nervously and her hands twisted together in front of her.

"I'm pregnant, Sirius,"

Sirius was sure he should feel something. Pain. Happiness. An invisible punch to his stomach. All he felt was numb. His head wasn't foggy, he could think perfectly clearly.

"Is it definitely mine?"

"I've done the spell to check, it's yours,"

"Oh. I guess you've not told James yet? Good, we should tell him together-"

"I'm not telling James, Sirius, and neither are you," Lily said, "This is going to stay a secret, to everyone else this baby will be James',"

"We can't Lily, we can't do that. James needsto know. He _deserves _to know,"

"No he doesn't, he doesn't need to know anything,"

"Yes he does, I have to tell him. He-"

"Tell him if you have to, but don't pretend you're doing it for him; you're doing it to make yourself feel better. He'll be happier if he thinks it's his,"

"And what if the baby looks like me?"

Lily just shrugged, "I'll deal with that if it comes to it,"

Sirius just stared. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Hiding this from James was impossible. How could he look at his best friend, his comrade, his brother, every day and not tell him his child wasn't really his.

But how could he tell his brother he'd betrayed him? That he'd slept with his wife? It would break James, he knew it would. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that.

"Okay."

Lily nodded, as if she'd known this would be the answer all along.

"I'll leave then,"

Sirius nodded, he'd known she wouldn't stay.

She didn't go right away though. She stopped just in front of his and pressed her lips to his. It was a bizarre clone of their first kiss. Not really a kiss. That made it so much better. And worse. And then she pulled away.

_Please don't throw things at me! Let me explain! I know I made Lily seem like a bitch, but I've read a lot of stories where she cheats on James and they always portray her as this broken woman, just going to Sirius/Severus/Remus for comfort, then one thing leads to another and… Lily has just never seemed that way to me. I think of her a strong woman, who wouldn't go to another man because she had a fight with her husband. She went to Sirius because she wanted to, and I've always had a feeling that while Lily is kind and forgiving and gentle, she's also somebody who gets what she wants. We all have a bad side, right?_

_So leave a review, did you hate it? Love it? This is going to be a multi-chap as well, so follow if you want to find out about Harry Potter (Black)._


	2. Chapter 2

_For _Oneofthosepeopleonthestreet_'s _What If? Competition.

Prompts used: Candy (I changed it to sweets because I'm English)

Description: With study clubs to "run", Voldemort coming back, mysterious notes ending up in his bag and trying to befriend The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has enough on his plate in his fifth year of school without having to deal with Daphne-fucking-Greengrass practically stalking him.

Rating: T

_Disclaimer: I checked everywhere (in my pockets, in my bag, under my bed) but no Harry Potter to be found. I guess I don't own it._

**You Know Who Is Back!**

_After Neville Longbottom, The Boy Who Lived, was kidnapped by an unknown death eater and used in a resurrection potion our whole world has been turned upside-down._

_Neville and best friend Hannah Abbott were taken from beside the Black Lake on Saturday 15th June by a masked woman who is described by Hermione Granger, who was returning from the library to join her friends, as being short and "girlish" and wearing the classic death eater mask._

_On Sunday 16th Neville was found outside Abbott's home in Yorkshire with his memory wiped. Famed memory expert, Gilderoy Lorkhart, was called to investigate. Unable to break the complicated spell himself, Lockhart enlisted help of private tutor, Sirius Black, and Unspeakable, Lily Evans. Together they were able to reveal Neville's memory._

_Neville and Hannah were hit from behind with an _Incarcerous _spell that tied them with ropes, then the kidnapper used a portkey to transport them to an unknown graveyard. There, Neville was tied to gravestone and his blood was used in a potion to resurrect the Dark Lord. Abbott managed to release Longbottom and the two tried to run. Abbott was killed by the unforgivable curse, _Avada Kedavra_. It is thought that You Know Who wiped Neville's memory in an attempt to keep his ascension a secret._

_To keep The Boy Who Lived as safe as possible the Longbottom family has hired ex-auror, Alastor Moody to act as a body guard for Neville until such a time as You-Know-Who is no longer a threat._

_Wednesday 19th June_

_Dear Lily,_

_I know I made you promise not to contact me, and I promised myself I wouldn't contact you, but we need to talk. Please meet me in my office at my apartment tomorrow at 4am._

_Sincerely,_

_Sirius Black_

_Thursday 20th June_

_Dear Sirius,_

_Fuck off._

_Sincerely,_

_Lily Potter_

Friday 9th August

Harry Potter knew the moment he woke up something was wrong. His mother leant over him, talking in her most coaxing voice and holding a tray of hot, buttery toast.

"Sit up, darling, here you go, take this," Lily Potter said, resting the tray on her son's lap and fluffing up his pillows so he could sit back, "Now eat up."

Harry took a big bite of toast and watched as Lily sat on the bed carefully, her hands twisting together.

"Whazzu?"

Lily laughed, "Swallow then speak, darling."

Harry swallowed obligingly and said, "What's up?"

"Nothing's _up_, but you do need to get up as soon as you've finished that." Lily said.

"Why?"

"We have our first order meeting in an hour-"

"Can I join?" Harry said eagerly.

"No!"

Lily's face had gone very pale and she had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could speak again.

"No," She said more softly, "It's far too dangerous, and you're only fifteen." She held up a hand to stop Harry's protests. "Don't argue, Harry, you aren't joining. The first meeting is in an hour at Neville Longbottom's house and we can't find anyone to take you at such short notice. Carter is going to stay at her friend's house-"

"I can stay home alone-"

"No, you can't. You're coming with us to Neville's. You and Neville can spend some time together while we have the meeting."

"But what am I supposed to do with him?" Harry said, wondering if Neville would be opposed to eavesdropping on the adults.

"Just talk to him, you can go flying."

"He hates flying."

"Then do something he doesn't hate. I have to go floo Peter, so hurry up and get dressed. And don't forget your wand."

"Peter's back from his trip?"

Harry tried to make his voice casual, but Lily still looked suspicious.

"Yes, he's coming over in a minute. Don't ask him about it though, he won't tell you anything."

"Of course not," Harrys said in his most innocent voice.

As soon as Lily had left Harry shoved the toast away and leapt out of bed. He was showered, dressed and in the kitchen in twenty minutes.

As he'd hoped, Peter was sitting at the table beside Remus, and there were no parents in sight.

"Morning Harry," Remus said.

"Mornin'," Peter said through a mouthful of toast.

"How was your trip Peter?" Harry said, keeping his voice hushed because Lily had an unfortunate ability to overhear things Harry wished she wouldn't.

Peter and Remus exchanged knowing looks and Peter said, "You know I can't tell you that, Harry."

"Come on," Harry said, "I'm almost fifteen! When you were fifteen you were-"

"Worrying about exams and girls, not fighting dark lords," Remus said.

Harry gave a little huff and glared at the two men. Remus finished off his tea and Peter began eating another slice of toast. Harry huffed again.

"What are you doing today then, Harry?" Peter said, ignoring Harry's obvious irritation.

"Being entertained by the boy who lived," Harry muttered.

"Don't call him that, Harry," Remus said, "How would you like to be thought of as only the boy who lived, instead of Harry?"

"Don't be silly, Remus," Harry said rolling his eyes, "If I were in his position I would have gotten people to stop calling me that ages ago."

"That's not the point, the point is that you're supposed to be being nice to _Neville_ and treating him like any other-"

"Don't scold him, Remus," Peter said.

Harry smiled gratefully, but the smile slid off his face when James Potter came into the kitchen. His auror robes were crumpled as if he hadn't taken them off it days and his face was pale and drawn. Harry had never seen his father cry, but there were tear tracks on his face.

"Is that coffee?" James said, taking Peter's cup and downing it in a few seconds.

"You look terrible, when did you last sleep James?" Remus said.

James snorted and said, "I'll sleep when the death eaters stop attacking innocent muggles."

"Is it really that bad?" Harry said, suddenly sounding very young.

"I'm not telling you anything, Pronglet," James said swatting Harry's head playfully.

Harry glared at all of them, then stormed into the sitting room and slammed the door. He ran loudly up the stairs, then paused at the top. When he was sure nobody was going to come after him, he crept back down. He pressed his ear against the door and smirked when he heard the adults talking.

"-wish I could tell him something, but Lily's so protective," James was saying, "She treats him like he's five, shielding him from the war, even though if it goes on like it is he'll be joining the order as soon as he's seventeen-"

Remus interrupted him and said something too quietly for Harry to hear. There was more muffled speech then James said loudly, "How did trip go Peter?"

Harry pressed against the door harder in his impatience to hear Peter's answer.

"It was okay," Peter said in the same loud voice that James used, "I was kidnapped-" Harry froze, "-by fairies. They kept me captive and tried to make me speak gobbledygook, and then when I tried to explain to them I couldn't-"

"Alright, I won't listen at doors anymore," Harry said, opening the door.

All three men were watching him, trying not to laugh.

"How'd you know I was there, anyway?" Harry said, sitting down again.

"Remus heard you," Peter said.

"How? I was really quiet."

James and Remus went still suddenly and Peter's face blushed red.

"I- I- I think-" Peter stammered.

"It's what I would have done at your age, so I was listening out," Remus cut in smoothly.

"Seriously though, Harry, no more listening at doors," James said, "If I catch you again I'll tell your mum."

"But you said you _wanted _to tell me things," Harry said, "You were right. Mum is too protective."

"That may be, but it doesn't mean I'm going to go against her. If you need to know something, we'll tell you, I promise you that."

Before Harry could argue further, Lily came into the room.

"Is everyone ready to go?" She said.

"Yep," James said, clearing the table with a flick of his wand.

"Alright, Harry into the living room, we're flooing there. You need to say Longbottom House, Rolos." Lily said.

"Rolos?" Harry said.

"It's a type of muggle sweet that Augusta likes, and it's the password for their floo today."

Harry decided not to question this and took the handful of floo powder Lily offered him.

He stepped into the fireplace, dropped the powder and called out, "Longbottom House, Rolos."

He was immediately taken away with a _whoosh_. His right elbow wacked against the walls no less than three times and when he finally stumbled out onto the Longbottom's carpet he crouched down so as not to be violently sick everywhere.

Harry waited until the world stopped spinning, then stood up and looked around. He was in some sort of parlour, full of old-fashioned chairs and delicate tables. The whole room was so neat and clean that Harry felt he couldn't move for fear he'd get dust on something.

Remus, Peter, James and Lily were all watching him, and he gave them a weak smile to show he was alright.

There was a sharp crack that made them all jump, but it was only a house elf.

"I is Dizzy," It said with a low bow, "Mistress Longbottom is waiting for you Masters Lupin, Potter and Pettigrew and Mistress Potter in the dining room. Young Master Longbottom is in his room waiting for Young Master Potter."

Another elf appeared and said, "I is Minnie, Young Master Longbottom is wanting you Young Master Potter."

Harry muttered goodbye to his parents and followed Minnie upstairs. The house was small, but spacious because there was absolutely no clutter. The rooms they passed were all decorated much like the parlour and were twice as clean. Harry winced as he realised he'd left fingerprints on the stair rail.

He was thankful when they entered at Neville's room and it looked pretty ordinary. It was clean, but no more than Harry's would be if he had guests coming over, and all around there were hints of Neville's life; a strange looking plant in the corner, a trainer poking out from under the bed, a notice board above a cluttered desk, completely covered in photos.

Harry wanted to look closer, but Minnie cleared her throat and said, "Young Master Neville is going to be with you shortly."

Young Master Neville was with Harry shortly. Not five seconds after Minnie disappeared Neville was coming into the room.

"Hi," Harry said.

"Hi," Neville said.

Neville scratched his ear. Harry looked down at his feet.

"So, good holidays?" Harry said finally.

"What do you think?"

Neville's voice was soft, but there was a hard edge to it that made Harry glance at him. He felt a pang of sympathy when he saw Neville's face. Poor thin, tired, nervous Neville, trying valiantly to look strong in front of him.

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's been pretty awful," Harry said.

"You'd guess right."

Harry smiled. Neville smiled back. Harry felt like he could breathe easily again.

"You can sit down, you don't have to stand up all day," Neville said.

Harry didn't feel comfortable enough to sit on the bed, so dragged out the desk chair and sat down.

"What do you think they're talking about down there?" Harry said, vaguely gesturing downstairs where the Order meeting was.

"I dunno, my grandmother doesn't tell me anything."

"But you're the only one who's seen Voldemort-" Neville flinched at the name, "-how can they not tell you anything? Everyone expects you to fight him! To kill him!"

Neville flinched again.

"That's not going to happen anytime soon," He said quietly, "How am I supposed to defeat the most powerful wizard of all time when I can't even do a disarming spell?"

The sympathy came back in a rush, accompanied by a large amount of guilt. Harry suddenly wanted to do something for Neville, _needed _to do something for him.

"I can teach you."

Harry wasn't sure what made him say the words, but he didn't want to take them back although Neville was already shaking his head.

"No, thank you. The only thing worse than being bad at Defence would be people knowing I'm bad at Defence. You can understand how dangerous that would be."

"We wouldn't tell anyone."

Harry met Neville's eyes and knew it was no use. Neville didn't trust him. Why would he? Harry had never shown any interest in him before. Harry sighed.

"Do you want to go see if we can hear anything downstairs?" Harry said.

Neville hesitated, then nodded and said, "Step where I step so you don't make the stairs creak."

Harry followed Neville down stairs and through a living room, stopping at the door to what he assumed was the dining room.

"I can't hear anything," Neville whispered.

Harry pressed his ear against the door. Nothing. He got out his wand and cast a detection spell. The door glowed a faint green.

"They've put a silencing charm up," Harry said.

"Can you break it?" Neville said.

Harry considered this for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, they're all really powerful in there, they'll notice if I take it down."

"Then we better get back upstairs before-"

"Neville? Is that you?"

Harry stepped back hastily as the door opened to reveal Augusta Longbottom. She was tiny woman and looked as delicate as a bird, but her eyes were shrewd and she'd never lost the quick, sure movements of her twenty year old self.

"What do you want?" She said sharply.

Harry could see Neville was about to crumble, so stepped in quickly.

"I was thirsty, Mrs Longbottom, we were coming to get a drink."

Harry didn't know if Mrs Longbottom believed them, but she stood back to let them past. Harry scanned the faces sitting around the table quickly. He knew some of them, Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Weasleys, others he didn't recognise.

There was one man in particular who stood out. He looked about the same age as Remus, with thick dark hair, threaded with grey, and a worn, lined face. Harry probably wouldn't have looked twice at him, if he hadn't being looking so intently at Harry. The man stared at him desperately, as if he couldn't get enough.

Harry quickened his pace, suddenly uncomfortable.

All eyes were on them as Neville poured Harry a drink, but nobody spoke. Harry tried to get a glimpse of the papers spread out on the table, but Bill Weasley rolled them up when he saw Harry looking. Harry fought not to huff.

"Do you want to go outside?" Neville said, handing Harry the drink.

"No," Mrs Longbottom said before Harry could answer, "Go back to your room, Neville. Why don't you let Harry help you with your Defence homework, you've been having trouble with it."

Neville went red.

"I'll help you Defence if you help me with Herbology," Harry said.

As they left the room to go back upstairs Harry could have sworn he heard somebody say his name, but when he turned around the door was shut and they could hear no more.

Harry was quiet when his parents came up to collect him a few hours later. He stayed quiet when James, Peter and Remus went to work and he was left alone with Lily. She let him stay quiet through making the lasagne, but when it was in the oven she turned on him.

"Is everything okay, Harry? You're not angry that we wouldn't let you take part in the meeting are you?"

"No," Harry said, honestly surprised as he hadn't been thinking about that at all, "No, I'm not angry. I just- Neville told me he was worried because he's not very good at Defence, and everyone expects him to kill Voldemort. I offered to help him, but he won't let me, and I don't know what to do."

Lily thought for a moment then said, "Why won't he let you help?"

"I don't know for sure, I don't think he trusts me. Maybe he thinks I'll tell everyone how bad he is, then they'll try to hex him or something."

Lily's face darkened as she said, "Have you ever given him a reason to think you'd do that?"

"No!"

"Alright, sorry, I just had to check. Who does Neville trust?"

"He's friends with Hermione Granger, Susan Bones and Hannah-" Harry stopped as he realised Hannah was no longer Neville's friend.

Lily pretended to check on the pasta to give Harry time to blink away the tears in his eyes.

"Maybe you could ask them to help," She said once Harry's eyes were dry.

"People would still know he's not very good since he'd be the only one having extra tutoring."

"Then make it so he isn't the only one. Start a defence club, or better yet, a study club. Anyone can join, and nobody would know what subject Neville was getting help with."

Harry thought over this idea, then nodded.

"I might do that anyway, even if Neville doesn't join. Remus is the only decent Defence teacher we've had, so we're all behind."

"That's good. But I think Neville will join and-" she pulled Harry into a hug, "-I'm proud of you for wanting to help Neville. The poor things going through a hard time at the moment, and he could really use a friend like you."

_I'm pretty unhappy with this chapter, but I've figured out if I'm going to meet the due date I need to post something every week. I've rewritten in over five times, and I just can't seem to get it right, so I'm sorry if it feels a bit awkward. Did you notice I learned to use that line-separating thing... yep, only took me over two years ;)_

_Also, 7 favourites, 7 follows, and no reviews :( Pretty please leave a review, it doesn't have to be long (although I don't object if it is), just a few words would be great :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_For _Oneofthosepeopleonthestreet_'s _What If? Competition.

Prompts used: None this time

Description: With study clubs to "run", Voldemort coming back, mysterious notes ending up in his bag and trying to befriend The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has enough on his plate in his fifth year of school without having to deal with Daphne-fucking-Greengrass practically stalking him.

**The description is a bit muddled in the first and second chapter, because at first the story was going to be set in Harry's third year, then forth and I've finally settled on fifth. I'll change it when I can :) **

Rating: T

_Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter Sirius wouldn't be dead. So in my fanfiction, he isn't :) The Sorting Hat song also belongs to JK. _

Platform 9 ¾ was one of Harry Potter's favourite places in the world, only beaten by his home and Hogwarts itself. The steam was so thick you could see three feet in front of you, making the screams, the laughter, the chatter, seem like ghost voices. You didn't know if the person next to you was your best friend or your worst enemy. Harry thrived in that sort of environment.

Lily was bending down, saying goodbye to her son.

"Be good, and have fun-"

"Harry!"

Harry suddenly had an armful of girl.

"Hey, Raggy," Harry said laughing.

Harry could feel eyes on them, but he was used to that. People, especially boys, tended to look at Morag McDougal a lot. He knew she knew it too; by the way she fluffed her blonde curls and jutted her hip out just so.

"Hi Mr Potter, Mrs- Oh, Professor Lupin, are you coming back to Hogwarts? Oh, you should, we all miss you. Come on Harry, the train's going to leave in a few minutes," Raggy said, speaking the words so fast Harry struggled to keep up.

"Just a second, I've got to say goodbye first," Harry said.

Raggy rolled her eyes and squirmed impatiently, but Harry ignored her and turned to his parents.

Lily Potter smiled at him and smoothed a dark curl from his forehead.

"I love you."

"I love you too, mum."

Lily hugged her son tightly, then moved back so James could say goodbye.

"Have a great time, and try to ignore all us aurors, we aren't there to spy on you."

"I know, it'll be weird, but nice to know we're safe."

"Do you promise to write to me every week?" Carter asked when it was her turn, "I'm nine now and I can write real good letters, Mrs Weasley told me so."

"Every single week," Harry promised.

He kissed Carter and hugged his parents and Peter and Remus, then turned to Raggy.

"Okay, let's go."

The two leapt onto the train and Raggy began dragging Harry down towards the end of the train, but Harry pulled back.

"I've got to go to the Prefect carriage, Raggy," He said.

"Oh, I forgot about that," Raggy said laughing, "Are you going to forget us now you're a high and mighty prefect? Or maybe give me detention?"

"What will you do that means I have to give you detention?" Harry said jokingly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Raggy gave him an exaggerated wink and Harry laughed again and made his way to the prefect carriage. As he got there he saw a flash of bushy hair disappearing into the carriage.

"Hermione!"

The hair paused for a moment, then backed out and Hermione Granger appeared.

"Hey, Harry. You're prefect too, then?" She said.

"Yep, not surprising you are as well. Can I talk to you for a second?" Harry said.

"We have to get to the meeting, it's going to start in a minute."

"After, then?" Harry persisted.

Hermione looked at him curiously, but nodded.

Padma was already sitting in the carriage and grinned when she saw him.

"Morning Harry, Granger, we're just about to get started," Sarah Turpin said, "I'm Sarah Turpin, for those of you who don't know, and I'm head girl this year, and Cedric Diggory is head boy. We aren't going to keep you long, we just want to go over a quick plan for the first few weeks of school. A prefect meeting will be held once a month in my quarters to let you know about the new plan, and I expect you all to be there."

Sarah proved true to her words and didn't keep them long, but Harry found his attention wavering none the less. He found himself focusing more on his fellow prefects than Sarah's words. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were the new Slytherin prefects, no surprise there, and Harry vaguely recognised the two sixth year Slytherin prefects, Jasper Foster and Kay-something. Along with Hermione, Dean Thomas had been made Gryffindor prefect, but Harry didn't recognise any of the older ones. He knew Sarah, Oliver, Lauren, Ben, Danielle and Jake from his own house, and he knew most of the Hufflepuffs, including Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones who were in his year. With a few exceptions, it seemed quite a nice group of people.

"Harry!" Padma hissed suddenly, elbowing him sharply in the ribs.

Harry looked up, and was surprised to see the carriage was almost empty, with only Cedric, Hermione, Padma and himself left. Harry blushed when he saw Cedric smiling tolerantly at him, for some reason he'd never quite been able to make himself like Cedric. Something about him irked Harry, he always seemed so perfect without even trying, when he, Harry, tried so hard and rarely managed to get above average.

"Come on, we'll do a quick patrol then go sit with Raggy and Anthony, they're in the end carriage," Padma said.

"I'll catch up with you, I'm just going to talk to Hermione for a moment," Harry said.

Padma shrugged and disappeared and Cedric followed her.

"So what do you want?" Hermione said.

"I talked to Neville over the summer-" Harry ignored Hermione's raised eyebrows, "-and he said he couldn't do a disarming spell. I said I'd help him, but he doesn't want me to, so I thought we could form a study group, with most of our year and maybe the year below if they're interested, and then we could all help each other and Neville would be sure to learn _something_."

Hermione looked at his carefully, and said, "Why do you want to help him so much?"

"I dunno," Harry said shrugging, "just do. But even if he doesn't join the study group, it would still be useful. We have our OWLs this year, and I'm sure we don't know half of the Defence we're supposed to."

Hermione nodded slowly.

"I think `you're right. Okay, I'll help you with a study group. Just leave it to me, I'll organise everything."

She walked away before Harry could protest.

"No quite what I had in mind, but if it saves me the work," He said to himself.

"Talking to yourself, Potter?"

Harry jumped and looked up to see Tracey Davis leaning against the doorframe, looking at him with a half-mocking, half-amused look. Harry felt his face reddened again as he hastily denied it. Tracey nodded and said, "_Sure _you weren't."

"Do you want something?" Harry said angrily.

Tracey clucked her tongue and said, "Now, now, Potter, that's no way for a Prefect to talk. What if I needed help with something?"

Harry tried to keep his temper in check, but he'd never been very good at that, and he didn't think he would have been able to manage if Padma hadn't appeared then.

"Harry, look what I found," she said.

Harry's let out a half-laugh, half-gasp as Padma held up a glowering, distinctly ruffled cat. Harry didn't know if he was more surprised that Padma had a cat, or that said cat was so ugly it looked more like a gargoyle come to life than an animal. And he'd thought Crookshanks was bad…

It reminded him bizarrely of a house elf, with its long, pointy face and huge floppy ears. It might have once been white, but was now a strange grey-green colour, with flashes of brown here and there. Half of its tail appeared to have been cut off, and never properly healed, and great chunks of fur had fallen off sometime in the past, leaving random bald patches along its tiny body.

The cat watched all of them with baleful golden eyes, then suddenly swiped at Padma's hand. She cried out and dropped it and the cat, trying to get as far away as possible from its captor, dashed between Harry's legs and tried to hide behind him.

"Where did you get that beast?" Tracey said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Padma fixed Tracy with a cool look.

"None of your business, Davis. Now, if you don't need anything, go back to your own compartment."

Tracey glared at Padma, but stalked off. As soon as she was gone Padma's expression lost its hard edge, and she looked at the cat, still crouched behind Harry, with an expression of pity and awe.

"She's so ugly."

Despite her words, Padma's voice was close to a croon, and Harry fought back a laugh.

"Where did you find it?" Harry said.

"It's a her, I checked. She was in the corridor, I didn't notice her at first, she's so tiny, and I almost trampled her. We should go around and ask people if they've lost a cat, she'll belong to one of the pupils."

"I don't know, I think I would recognise it- _her_, if she lived at Hogwarts."

"She could belong to a first year, or someone could have bought her-"

"Bacon, here puss, puss, puss. Bacon, darling, come here puss- There you are Bacon."

A man crouched down and the cat, Bacon, Harry assumed, leapt immediately into his arms and began to purr loudly. Harry started in surprise when he recognised the dark-haired man from the Order meeting.

"I see you found my-"

Professor Black stopped mid-sentence when he saw Harry. All of the colour drained from his face, leaving him looking haggard and old, and his eyes widened until Harry could see the white all around his pupil.

Harry shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat when Black didn't move. Bacon butted her head against his chin, then yowled as he held her too tightly and ran back between Harry's legs. This seemed to break the man out of his trance.

"I'm sorry, you just reminded me of someone," He said, with a small, polite smile, "I'm Professor Black, thank you for finding Bacon, she's not used to trains and went to explore."

"That's okay," Padma said, "She's a lovely girl. I'm Padma Patil, and this is Harry Potter, we're the Ravenclaw Prefects."

"Lovely to meet you, Padma," Black said.

He stepped forward to shake Padma's outstretched hand, and frowned when he saw the four long scratches Bacon had inflicted.

"I'm sorry, Bacon doesn't take kindly to strangers, let me heal those."

"She seems to have taken to Harry," Padma said as Black waved his wand over hand.

Black didn't seem to hear her and scooped Bacon up as soon as the scratches were healed.

"It's was nice to meet you both, but I must get back."

He gave a small bow and walked off briskly.

"That was weird," Harry said when he had disappeared into a carriage.

"Well, he healed those scratches perfectly," Padma said examining her hand, "which puts him above Lockheart. Do you remember how he almost sliced Raggy's leg off when she fell over that chair? A minor healing spell to fix the graze and she'd have been fine, but he's goes and uses to elaborate charm that I'm not even sure exists."

Harry winced, wishing Padma was exaggerating.

"At least Professor Dumbledore had the good sense to fire him after that, if he hadn't I'm not sure what Raggy would have done."

"Raggy?" Padma laughed, "It was you I was worried about, I thought you were going to rip _his _leg off."

"I was thinking about it."

"Good job he was fired then, I'd hate to have to go all the way to Azkaban to see you. Come on, let's go sit down. We'll do a proper patrol after lunch, then just before we arrive to make sure everyone in their uniforms and ready to get off."

Harry followed Padma to the end of the train, where Raggy was sitting with Anthony Goldstein.

"Finally, I thought you two were going to stay away the whole journey," Raggy said.

"Sorry, we had a situation with a cat," Padma said, "Hey Anthony, how was your summer?"

"Good thanks, congratulations by the way, to both of you," Anthony said, eyeing the badge on Harry's robes.

"Thanks," Harry said hesitantly, he knew Anthony had been expecting to receive the badge. Harry had been expecting him to get it too, but he couldn't say he was sorry.

"I saw your dad earlier, Harry. He came into our compartment to see if we were okay," Raggy said.

"That was Harry's dad?" Anthony said, "You don't look anything like him, Harry."

"I know," Harry said, sitting down next to Padma, "I look like my mum."

"Except for your hair," Padma said, "You're dark like your dad, but his is all-" she waved her hands around her head to illustrate James' all-over-the-place hair, "-and yours is all curly."

Harry slapped her hand away as she tried to ping a curl and said, "I get my curls from my mum's side as well, apparently my grandma's hair was curly."

"Harry's hair isn't really the important part of the story," Anthony said, "Why is your dad on the train?"

"Aurors are going to guard Hogwarts this year, the ministry wanted to send dementors, but Dumbledore wouldn't let them-"

A knock cut Harry off. The four of them looked up to see Ginny Weasley standing at the door.

Harry used to be very good friends with Ginny, Mrs Weasley taught them both before Hogwarts, but in her first year Ginny had fallen into some kind of depression. Nothing, not cheering charms or mind doctors, had been able to break it.

Each year Mrs Weasley would tell her she couldn't go back to Hogwarts, and each year Ginny fought tooth and nail to go back. Harry winced inwardly as he remembered the way she'd screamed herself hoarse that summer, and kicked and punched at anything and anyone that went near her. It was the only sign of life he'd seen in her for three years.

"Can I sit with you? Nobody else wants me to sit with them," Ginny said in the same monotone she said everything.

"Of course you can, Ginny," Harry said smiling.

Ginny didn't smile back. She sat down opposite Harry and stared at him.

"It's Ginny, right?" Raggy said, "I'm Morag, but everyone calls me Raggy, this is Padma and Anthony. Are you in forth year?"

"Yes."

"Are you looking forward to school starting again?"

"No."

Raggy laughed and said, "Neither am I, but at least you don't have OWLs to worry about."

"I don't care about exams."

Nobody spoke.

The following journey was the worst Harry had ever experienced. Anthony got annoyed at Ginny and refused to even look at her, and Padma was too shy to talk much. Raggy and Harry valiantly tried to keep up a conversation, but even they lapsed into silence after a while. All in all, Harry was glad when the train finally stopped.

"Moody little bugger, isn't she?" Anthony muttered to Harry and climbed off the train.

"Was it something we said?" Raggy said.

"No," Harry said with a sigh, "Ginny's always like that."

They had to shut up then because Ginny appeared next to them. Harry hoped she hadn't heard them, but it wasn't likely. He was thankful for the distraction of the thestrals.

"Hey, girl," He said softly, patting the thestral's neck.

"You can see them, too?" Ginny said, watching the animal in front of her with unwavering calm.

"Yes, I got a fright the first time though. I was only second year and I'd been told the carriages pulled themselves, I thought I was going mad when I saw a big horse-thing. I didn't realise you could see them."

"Yes, I've been able to see them for a few years. How can you see them?"

"I was there the night Frank and Alice Longbottom were killed," Harry said quietly, "My parents got called into work, and the Longbottoms were the only ones who were free to take me. Then Voldemort came and I saw them both die. How can you see them?"

Ginny face twisted into an ugly scowl and she snapped, "None of your business!"

People near them turned to stare and Harry felt himself going red.

"Sorry," He said, "I didn't mean to pry."

Ginny snorted disbelievingly and walked away. Harry exchanged a helpless glance with Ron Weasley, who was sitting in between Padma and Anthony, and climbed into the carriage.

"Sorry about that," Ron said, "Thestrals are a bit of a sore spot with Ginny."

Harry only just refrained from saying that everything was a sore spot with Ginny.

The carriage ride wasn't much better than the train ride. Ginny might have gone, but it was she'd left behind her a bad feeling, something that crept inside your head and made you angry at the world. Harry wondered if this was how Ginny felt all the time, and, if so, how she could stand it.

The great hall did a good job of lifting everyone's spirits though. It was bright and cheerful, and already smelled of food although the tables were empty.

"I'm starving," Raggy said as they sat at the Ravenclaw table.

"We'll have food soon enough," Padma said, "Now shush, I want to listen to the Sorting Hat's song."

"_In times of old, when I was new,_

_And Hogwarts barley started,_

_The founders of our noble school _

_Though never to be parted._

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school,_

_And pass along their learning._

"_Together we will build and teach"_

_The four good friends decided._

_And never did they dream that they,_

_Might some day be divided._

_For were there such anywhere,_

_As Slytherin and Griffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair,_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw._

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there, so I can tell,_

_The whole sad sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those, _

_Who ancestry's purest_

_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose,_

_Intelligence is surest." _

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those,_

_With brave deeds to their name,_

_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,_

_And treat them all the same."_

_These differences caused little strife,_

_When first they came to light,_

_For each of the four founders had,_

_A house in which they might,_

_Take only those they wanted so,_

"_For instance, Slytherin,_

_Took only pure-blood wizards,_

_Of great cunning just like him._

_And only those of sharpest mind,_

_We taught by Ravenclaw,_

_While the bravest and the boldest,_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus, the houses and their founders,_

_Maintained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony,_

_For several happy years,_

_But then discord crept among us,_

_Feeding faults and fears._

_The houses that, like pillar four,_

_Had once held up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school,_

_Must meet an early end,_

_What with duelling and with fighting,_

_And the clash of friend on friend._

_And at last there came a morning,_

_When old Slytherin departed,_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders four,_

_Were whittled down to three,_

_Have the houses been united,_

_As they once were meant to be._

_And now the Sorting Hat is here,_

_And you all know the score,_

_I sort you into houses,_

_Because that is what I'm for._

_But this year I'll go further, _

_Listen closely to my song,_

_Though condemned I am to split you,_

_Still I worry that it's wrong._

_Though I must fulfil my duit,_

_And must quarter every year,_

_Still I wonder whether sorting,_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger,_

_From external, deadly foes._

_And we must unite inside her, _

_Or we'll crumble from within,_

_I have told you, I have warned you…_

_Let the sorting now begin."_

It couldn't be said the applause was as loud as usual.

"Could have been a bit more cheerful," Harry said.

"Anthony shook his head and said, "The Sorting Hat always knows when there's trouble, and gives advice out. You know that."

"I do?"

"We learnt it last year," Raggy said rolling her eyes, "I sometimes wonder how you came to be in Ravenclaw, Harry."

"Honestly Raggy, so do I."

The sorting was over quickly, Harry didn't know if he was imagining it, but there didn't seem to be as many first years as there usually was. They all ate plenty, and Harry found himself talking animatedly with Luna Lovegood most of the meal, the strange irritation Ginny had left him with disappearing.

When they were all full and getting sleepy, Dumbledore stood up and made his customary speech. He warned everyone to stay away from the forest and told them about the list of forbidden items, but he had something new to say this year.

"I'm sure by now you've all noticed the guards we have around the castle, they are aurors here to guard the school. This year every adult will be required to wear a special name badge on their robes, that can only be removed by myself. If you see an adult without a name badge, you are to report them to an auror or teacher _at once_.

He looked them all seriously, then his face broke into a smile again.

"I would also like to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Sirius Black."

Black stood up and gave his little bow again. His gaze seemed to linger on Harry, but since nobody else noticed Harry didn't say anything.

"That is all, Prefects, please escort first years to your common rooms, the rest of you, I'd say 'don't stay up too late', but I fear it would make no impression. So instead I shall say, remember you must get up early tomorrow. Goodnight."

"First years, follow us!" Padma called, taking Harry's hand and pulling him to the end of the table.

Harry let Padma do the talking, and zoned out as she told them how to get to the common room. Despite Padma's explanation, the first years all gasped when the knocker began to speak.

"Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you me, when I have flown. What am I?"

"Time!" A small girl with orange pigtails called out.

Padma smiled proudly at her when the door swung open. Harry was relieved the first years hadn't seen him struggle with the riddle.

As always on the first day back, Harry was exhausted, and went to bed early. He had a lot to do tomorrow, the plan was to ask Professor Flitwick if he could start a study club and his mum and dad had warned him that the work really started in OWL year.

He tried not to think of this as he changed and climbed into the familiar bed, warmed by house elf magic and so comfy. As always he felt a pang of homesickness, but it wasn't as strong this year because he knew his father was somewhere around.

Harry wondered if he'd have Defence tomorrow and if…

"_You have done well, my faithful servant. Our little one is in Hogwarts again, and the Boy Who Lived will die."_

_The voice was coming from a swaddle of blankets on a plush armchair. It was high and reedy, and sounded weak. _

"_Do- do you really think so?" _

_Harry knew the other voice at once. _

"_Of course, everything is going according to plan. The aurors are stationed at the school, the boy remembers me rising and nobody will ever suspect our little one. Do you know of anything that could ruin our plan?" _

"_N- n- no, of course not, my Lord."_

"_Good. Oh, Serveruss, you're late."_

"_My apologies, my Lord."_

_Harry felt faintly sick as Snape crouched down and kissed the slimy, white hand that was extended towards him. _

"_You know I can't abide unpunctuality, you must be punished." _

_The other man put a wand in the slimy hand, his whole body trembling. He closed his eyes and looked away as the curse was cast. _

"_Crucio!"_

Harry woke up screaming. He was covered in a cold sweat and his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to leap out of his chest.

"Harry? You 'right?"

"Yes, fine," Harry gasped, "Just a nightmare. Go back to sleep, Anthony."

Harry stared at ceiling, trying desperately to remember his dream. It was important. It _was. _But it was already slipping away from him, and he was so tired... He had to remember. The voice. That voice. The one he recognised. Who was it?

It was no good. He couldn't remember. So tired…

By the time he was up and dressed the next morning, he was convinced it didn't matter. After all, it was only a dream.

_Seriously, this chapter was like pulling teeth! I have this horrible feeling this story is going to be very difficult to write. I have it all planned out, plot twists and pairings and random scenes, inside my head, but as soon as I bring up my word document my brain turns to mush and the words are all stilted and wrong. But I did it, and I'm going to carry on doing it. Now though, I'm going to go write some one-shots to soothe my poor brain. _

_I also want to say, all the weird quirks in this story will be explained, if you just carry on reading. That includes Harry's non-Ravenclaw behaviour, Lily keeping Harry's father a secret and everything else._

_Thank you all _so _much for reviewing. I wish I could say how much it actually means, but everyone who writes on here knows so I won't bother. _

_**TraduccionesNortia: **__Thank you so much, the first review on a story always makes me smile and yours is one of the best yet. _

_**Benevolent Abyss: **__Thank you. Honestly, I'm not the biggest Lily/Sirius fan either when Lily is with James, but it was a pairing I got as a challenge and the story just began to form in my head so I wrote it._

_**Bubblecloudz: **__Thank you_

_**Triforce Guardian: **__All will be revealed eventually, although I will say a lot of people don't look like their parents. In this story Harry looks a lot like Lily (except his hair which he got from his grandma ;) ) I don't think people would question it much unless he looked a lot like Sirius. Got it right with Ravenclaw, and Daphne might not be introduced for a bit, it depends on how fast Harry decides he wants to get to know her. Your idea about the Harry-detector charms made me laugh, and every time I see it I giggle. _

_**Ruroniiii**__: Thanks_

_**Darth Sadist: **__Haven't had a reviewer that does yet, but the Sirius/Lily is over and the pairing isn't actually a big part of the story, it's more about Sirius and Harry, and Lily and Harry._

_**Sarah-rose76646: **__Thanks, I hope it stays interesting._

_**Oneofthosepeopleonthestreet: **__I was rereading it today and saw the mistakes too, hopefully they haven't carried on this chapter. Glad you're interested :)_

_**HollyPotter28: **__Thank you. You're probably right about Lily being OOC, but I don't write her very much and she somehow came out a bit of bitch. _

_**Chi Vayne: **__I know, I didn't mean to make excuses for Lily's actions or make them seem okay, I meant her bad side is that she's selfish. In the books everyone likes her, she's pretty and clever, and in my experience, people like that _are _selfish. But at the same time, she was young and irresponsible, and hopefully you won't think her so bad soon. Thank you for reviewing!_


	4. Chapter 4

_For _Anrheithwyr_'s _What If? Competition.

Prompts used: None this time

Description: With study clubs to "run", Voldemort coming back and trying to befriend The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has enough to deal with in his fifth year of school without having to figure out what the mysterious notes he's been getting mean.

Rating: T

_Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter_

* * *

The next morning Hogwarts was a flurry of activity. People ate their breakfast while doing last-minute homework, spraying crumbs all over the place much to Padma and Anthony's disgust, and somehow all the timetables had managed to get muddled up, so Harry had to spend a good ten minutes searching through the Third Year's before he found his name. Half the Professors were disgustingly cheerful, and the other half looked like they were at a funeral. To make it worse, Harry could shake the creepy-crawly feeling in his stomach that somebody was watching him.

He couldn't be sure who it was, but Ginny looked awfully nervous for a zombie-girl and Black obviously had something against him. He tried his best to ignore it as he thought carefully over how to propose the idea of a study club to Flitwick. He was sure the man would say yes, but Harry didn't like to go see him unprepared in case he said something stupid, which tended to happen a lot when he was around smart people.

Having finally settled on a small speech about the importance of OWLs and inter-house bonding, Harry made his way to the wizard's study. He knocked and waited politely until he was told to enter, then stopped when he saw who was behind the desk. Black sat there looking as relaxed as could be, his hands clasped behind his head and feet resting on the surface of the desk. Professor Flitwick stood off to the side, wand held high and three boxes hovering before him.

He smiled when he saw Harry and said, "Mr Potter, I suppose you're here to see me?"

"Er, yeah," Harry said, all thoughts of sophisticated speeches vanishing at once.

"This is going to Professor Black's office from now on, it makes sense since his classroom is right next to it. My office is on the seventh floor, I did put a notice up in the common room this morning."

"Oh, I didn't see it, sorry."

"No need to be sorry, would you like to go there now, or can we talk here?"

Harry fumbled for words as both men watched him expectantly. Black wasn't acting strangely anymore, but there was still something off about the man that Harry didn't like. A part of him didn't want Black to know about the study club, but his inner Padma told him not to be so silly and that Black could be of some use, being the Defence teacher.

"Well, the thing is, Hermione and I have been talking, and we were thinking of maybe running a study club this year to help people with stuff."

The words came out as awkwardly and stupidly as Harry had feared, but Professor Flitwick didn't seem to notice.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," he said enthusiastically, "OWL year is one of the hardest, and it would be much easier on all of you if you worked together."

"That's what we were thought, and-" Harry turned to face Black, "-we want to specialise in Defence, so if you have any advice…"

Black looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I think a little extra help in Defence for you all would be very useful. I'm aware that your teaching in the subject has been somewhat… inconsistent, but I don't have time to go through everything you should know. Yes, I think I would like to help, perhaps see what you're going to be going over so I don't repeat it in class."

This was more than Harry had intended, he didn't want Black intruding and taking over. As if reading his mind Black said, "I wouldn't interfere of course, I just want to know that I'm not teaching you things you already know."

Unable to find a plausible reason to say no, Harry nodded.

"Excellent," Professor Flitwick said, clapping his hands and causing the boxes to fall a couple of inches, "Just pick a night, a time and a classroom and let me know."

"I think Hermione's sorting all of that out," Harry said.

"Yes, I imagine she is. Have her let me know and I'll make sure the other teachers don't to interrupt. I must say, I'm very pleased with your involvement Mr Potter, I do love to see students taking an active role in their learning."

He waved his wand and Harry ducked as the boxes came floating over his head, and then Professor Flitwick was gone. Black cleared his throat and stood up.

"Shall we go to class then? I do have you next, don't I?" He said lightly.

Harry nodded and followed him to the Defence classroom. It was already full of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, but instead of responding to Raggy's fervent gestures to the seat next to her, Harry sat at the front next to Hermione Granger.

"I got permission for the study club," He whispered, "You just need to let Professor Flitwick know when and where we're going to hold it."

Hermione beamed and said, "Wonderful, I can't wait to get started. I have _so _many ideas-"

"Silence, please."

The class quietened down and turned to look at Black, who stood at the front of the class on a platform that hadn't been there a minute ago. Harry realised he must has charmed the floor to rise, and was impressed despite himself.

"I am Professor Sirius Black, but I want you all to call me Sirius. I'm not used to being called Professor or Black and I want to keep it that way.

"I've been a private tutor for the majority of my life so I know how to teach, and I was an auror before that so I know my subject well. However, I'm not here to get you an O on your OWLs-" Hermione let out a little gasp, "-I'm here to help you know how to defend yourself against people who will fight harder, longer and dirtier than yourselves. I'm not going to coddle you, we are at the start of a war, and if you aren't prepared you will die."

He looked at each one of the students carefully, then stopped on Padma.

"What's your name?"

"Padma Patil, sir."

"Sirius," Sirius corrected, "Could you please join me up here, Padma? And you, in the back, Terry, isn't it?

Terry Boot stood up nervously and walked to the front, but Padma seemed frozen. Harry felt a wave of sympathy for his friend, he knew how much she hated being called upon.

"I'll do it instead," he said.

Sirius looked at him, his expression inscrutable, then nodded. Harry went to stand on the platform beside Terry and watched as Sirius walked to the back of the classroom then turned to face them.

"Wands out," he said, "Duel!"

There as a moment of stillness and everyone stared at Sirius. This was not a normal lesson plan. He watched Terry and Harry calmly, not seeming to notice the way Hermione's hand shot in the air.

"Please, sir," Hermione said once it became clear Sirius had no intention of calling upon her, "I don't think this is really allowed."

"I'm aware of that-"

"Hermione Granger."

"I'm aware of that, Hermione. But honestly, I don't give a shit was the Ministry says is and isn't allowed. If I'm fired, at least I'll know that I taught you something worthwhile. Now, Harry, Terry, duel."

Terry turned to Harry awkwardly and raised his wand, but Harry was faster and called out, "Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!"

Terry fell like a sack of potatoes. The whole class gasped as one, and Harry thought he heard Raggy giggling.

"Not bad," Sirius said, "but not good either."

"I won," Harry said indignantly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and said, "You think a death eater isn't going to be able to do a wandless spell to release himself? If you aren't going to injure your opponent you have to at least stun them."

"I think Terry _is_ injured, Professor," Raggy said.

Harry felt a flash of guilt when he saw the blood gushing out of Terry's nose, and waved his wand to release the boy. Sirius waved his wand casually as Terry scrambled up, and there was a sickening crunch as his nose fixed itself.

"You can go to the hospital wing and get a pain potion if you like," Sirius said, "That might ache a bit."

"Not a chance," Terry said grinning, "I don't want to miss the first Defence lesson in years we've actually learnt something."

Sirius smiled briefly, but then was all business again. For the rest of the lesson he called the class up in pairs to duel. Harry began to get irritated as he watched Sirius praise the winners for stunning their opponents and using creative spells, after all, he and Terry had been at a big disadvantage. But he bit his tongue and bared it, he couldn't deny that they were learning useful things.

Near the end he even managed to enjoy watching the duels a bit, as Anthony charmed a table to kick Parvati Patil in the shins repeatedly to distract her long enough that he could disarm her and Hermione preformed a spectacular bit of spellwork and disillusioned herself so she could safely stun Ron Weasley.

The class ended when Raggy, as usual, managed to take things a step too far. She transfigured a quill into a club and would have beat Lavender Brown over the head with it had Sirius not stopped her. A slightly disgruntled Raggy was told very seriously that she would never be able to get close enough to a death eater to knock them on the head.

It was safe to say that the first Defence lesson had gone very well, and the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins thought the same of their lesson after break. By lunch the whole year was buzzing with excitement over the new teacher, and, surprisingly, the study club as well. When Harry asked Hermione how it had gotten around so quickly she's just rolled her eyes to Lavender and Parvati and left it there.

"The first session will be tonight in the Charms classroom at seven o'clock. We can ask everyone what they want to learn about and make a list, then sometime at the weekend we'll go through it and decide on a timetable," she said.

Harry didn't care what they did as long as Neville came, and agreed easily, but as he was eating his dinner that evening, a wave of anxiety hit him. What if Hermione expected him to talk? What if nobody came? What if_ everyone _came?

He pushed his apple pie away from him, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Padma asked.

"He's just nervous that he's going to be terrible tonight," Raggy said through a mouthful of pudding.

"Don't be too nervous Harry, it'll make you even worse," Anthony said.

"Relax, nobody is expecting much from you. Zacharias Smith even has a poll going on how long it'll take Granger to take over completely," Raggy said helpfully.

"Ignore them, Harry," Padma said softly, squeezing his hand under the table, "You're going to be great."

Harry wished he could believe her.

An hour later he stood in the doorway of the Charms classroom, five minutes late. Hermione glared at him from her position at the front, her arms cross tightly across her chest and her eyes flashing. All of the tables and chairs had been pushed to the edge of the room, leaving a wide area to practice spells in, but it didn't seem big enough now that everyone in fifth year was sitting in it. Apparently people were more worried about OWLs that expected. Even Draco Malfoy was there, though he didn't condescend to sit on the floor like everyone else, lounging against the back wall instead.

"Sorry I'm late," Harry muttered, making his way through the crowd. All eyes followed him. A girl giggled, which set off everyone else.

"Everyone, be quiet," Hermione snapped.

Nobody appreciated this, and they all became louder, the laughter turning spiteful. Hermione tapped her foot and narrowed her eyes at them. Harry hid a wince; she wasn't going to gain any popularity by acting like a Professor. Seeing that she was going to snap again, Harry took a step forward and cleared his throat.

"Come on guys, if this is going to work we have to respect each other."

Some people, namely Zacharias and Draco, glared at Harry, but everyone quietened down.

"Good. Right then, so we're here for the first meeting of the study club-"

"_Really_?"

Harry ignored Zacharias' sarcastic interruption and the giggles it created, and continued, "We're not going to start any spells today, we just want to know what you want to learn and…"

Harry glanced at Hermione for help.

"And to pick a Council," Hermione said, stepping forward briskly, "We're going to form a council by having two representatives, a boy and a girl, from each house who will act as their houses' voice and as teachers to everyone. Each house will pick its own representatives and if you become a representative, you must be prepared to attend a meeting every Saturday to go over what we're going to teach, and you must tell the Council all suggestions made by others in your house, no matter how you feel about them.

"Obviously Harry and I will have the last say in everything, since we started the group, but we will take into consideration what is best for everyone. The group will focus a lot of Defence, since we're so behind on that, but put any other subjects you want on the list."

Harry wondered how much Hermione had decided on without telling him. The Council was a good idea, but Harry thought Hermione should have at least mentioned it before telling everyone. He couldn't confront her here though; they had to present a united front if anyone was going to respect their advice.

"Talk together now and pick your representatives, and make a list of everything you want to go over before Christmas. I will copy each list so you can pin them up in your common rooms, then if you think of anything else before tomorrow, you can write it down and we'll discuss it at the meeting."

The students split up into their Houses, leaving Harry and Hermione free to talk.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Harry said, working to keep his voice calm.

"I though you agreed to leave everything to me," Hermione said vaguely, eyeing the Slytherin group suspiciously.

Harry glanced over and saw Draco Malfoy smirking triumphantly, no wondering who was going to the male representative from Slytherin then.

"I still think you should have told me, this is my study group too."

Hermione sighed and said, "Fine, I'll tell you next time, happy?"

Harry wasn't one to sulk, and agreed readily, having already forgiven Hermione. Sighing again, Hermione wandered over to the Gryffindor group, who seemed to be having a heated argument over something.

Harry went to join the Ravenclaws, and found them already working on their list. Lisa Turpin, a sensible, if slightly boring girl, had been chosen as representative along with Anthony. Harry was pleased for his friends, but couldn't help but think the meetings would be rather dull with them and Hermione striking down any fun ideas, as they almost certainly would.

"We should focus a lot of History of Magic," Anthony said, "Professor Binns doesn't teach us half the things we needs to know, and he's never even mentioned good exam techniques."

The small circle murmured an agreement and Sue Li wrote _History of Magic _at the top of the parchment Hermione had provided.

"Transfiguration is a big one, too," Lisa said, "It's so complicated, we need all the practice we can get."

"Transfiguration," Sue said as she wrote, "and Muggle Studies as well, I know from my dad that half the things we're taught are completely wrong, and the examiners are almost always Muggleborns so they'll know if we make mistakes."

"But not everyone takes Muggle Studies," Terry Boot argued.

"Put it down anyway," Harry said, "With ten teachers we can do a session where some people learn Muggle Studies, and others do something else."

"Put Ancient Runes down then," Kevin Entwhistle said.

Su wrote the lesson down obligingly and continued to put Care of Magical Creatures beneath it. A part of Harry thought he should protest at the last one, Hagrid being one of his best friends, but he knew that they probably didn't know all they needed too since Hagrid tended to teach them about animals heliked instead of sticking to the curriculum.

"Alright everyone," Hermione said a few minutes later, "You can all go except for the representatives."

Harry weaved his way through the crowd of students to Hermione, followed by Lisa and Anthony, and handed her the Ravenclaw list. She scanned it and nodded approvingly at their choices.

"Alright," She said when only the Council was left, "The first Council meeting will be held Saturday evening at eight in the library-"

"But we're not allowed to talk in the library," Parvati Patil said.

Hermione's lips tightened slightly and her voice was cool when she said, "We're allowed to talk _quietly _about _work_, this way there won't be any loud arguments. Now Harry, you write down everyone's name and I'll copy these."

Harry took a sheet of parchment and glanced around at everyone. Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Megan Jones, Ernie Macmillan, Parvati Patil and, surprisingly, Neville Longbottom. He looked at Neville questioningly, who shrugged and muttered something about Gryffindors not wanting to have extra work.

"Alright," Hermione said once the list was written, "Everyone take these and pin them up in your common room tonight and bring them to the meeting tomorrow so we can discuss them-"

"We? Or you?" Draco said.

Hermione's face flushed red and she opened her mouth to retort. Harry put a restraining hand on her elbow and looked at Draco squarely. "We. We're all going to have a say in this, right Hermione?"

"Of course," Hermione said coolly, "However, Harry and I will have the last say-"

"That's not fair," Ernie Macmillan piped up, "You'll just do what your house wants."

"No we won't-"

"You'll be bias though," Lisa said.

"They're right, Hermione."

Hermione's brown eyes narrowed and she flipped bushy hair over her shoulder, her jaw tightening as she prepared to fight Harry too. "_We _organised this-"

"Technically _I _did, actually. I asked you to help me, not take over. And they are right, we'll be bias without realising, we need some sort of mediator or we'll just row all the time."

Hermione pressed her lips together, obviously realising she'd lost. "Fine. Who do you suggest?" Her voice was hard, her posture stiff. Harry immediately felt guiltily.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

Instead of looking grateful, Hermione looked confused.

"What about Sirius," Daphne said. They all turned to look at her and she shrugged, "He doesn't know any of us so he won't be bias, and he's DADA teacher and Defence is on all of our lists so we'll probably be focusing on it a lot."

"Sirius is really nice as well," Megan said softly.

Hermione nodded, "All in favour of Sirius raise your hands."

They all exchanged looks, but one by one all raised their hands except for Harry. They all turned to look at him

"Why don't you want Sirius?" Hermione said.

Harry shrugged. "No particular reason. He said he's like to be involved this morning anyway, so I don't think he'll mind."

"If you're sure? Good, motion carried. That's all for now."

"Come on, Harry," Anthony said, "We should get started on our Transfiguration essay, at least the first ten inches-"

"I think I'm going for a walk, we have a week for that essay," Harry said.

Anthony's lips tightened disapprovingly and he said, "I don't think procrastinating is-"

"It's only procrastinating if you have plans on doing the essay soon-"

"That isn't technically true-"

"I'm still going for a walk."

Anthony sighed and shook his head a little, but didn't argue anymore. Harry wondered vaguely if he should start on his essay, but the thought was blown away by the cool evening breeze as he stepped outside.

Groups of students were scattered around the grounds, taking advantage of what was bound to be the last sunshine of the year. The lake glittered and winked, and laughter filled the air. Harry took a deep breath of fresh air that smelt of damp leaves and flowers, and looked around for somebody to sit with. He thought about joining a group of Sixth Year Ravenclaws by the lake, but immediately dismissed the idea when he saw the heavy books spread around them.

He walked away before they could see him, moving quickly around the side of the castle. There were less people here, only a few couples wandering around. Harry waved politely to Cho and Cedric, but made no move to join them, feeling that his presence wouldn't be welcomed right then. Maybe he should join the Ravenclaws after all-

"Let's sit down, Cedric."

Cho flopped beneath a large willow tree beside the lake, reaching up and taking both of Cedric's hands. Harry's heart gave a painful squeeze as Cedric smiled softly down at his girlfriend, swinging their hands slightly. He reached automatically for a pencil, then paused, wondering if the couple would mind being drawn. He didn't want to interrupt them and ask, but his hand was itching to draw… If they did he could always throw the sketch away, he reasoned, and folded himself on the ground, arranging his sketchbook on his knee and began to draw.

The outline of the tree, then Cho's body and face- no, she should be a silhouette, maybe a shaft of light over her face…

He was so absorbed in the drawing he didn't notice somebody coming up behind him until-

"That's not a bad drawing."

Harry jumped violently, his pencil dragging across the page and maiming Cedric.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump."

Daphne Greengrass settled herself beside Harry, not taking her pale blue eyes off him.

"S'alright," Harry said, gently rubbing the line away. It was too dark though, and he felt too uncomfortable to draw now anyway. He closed his book and put it away.

"You don't have to stop because I'm here," Daphne said.

"I know."

The silence was thick and awkward. Harry searched his mind frantically for something to say, but no words came. Daphne didn't look as if she felt it, her head was tipped back, eyes closed and mouth slightly open. She looked like some sort of royal statue, Harry thought, and wondered if it would make a good drawing. Probably not, he decided, she looked too still, he liked to draw things that were _alive_.

"Daphne!"

They both looked up to see Tracey Davis walking towards them. Harry scrambled up, and automatically offered Daphne a hand. She refused, raising herself far more elegantly than should be possible.

"I've been looking for you," Tracey said once she was closer, completely ignoring Harry.

"My apologies," Daphne said, sounding faintly sarcastic.

Tracey's dark eyes flashed and she stepped forward, tossing her hair and putting a hand on her hip. The contrast between her and unflappable Daphne was startling. That, Harry thought, would make a good drawing.

"Harry, my boy."

Tracey and Daphne both started is surprised when they saw Professor Dumbledore striding across the grass towards them.

"Good afternoon ladies. I'm very sorry to interrupt, but I wonder if I could perhaps borrow Mr Potter for a moment?" He said once he reached them.

"Take him, please," Tracey said, pulling Daphne back a bit.

Harry flushed red and Dumbledore chuckled.

"As you wish, Miss Davis."

Harry followed Dumbledore quickly, glad to get away from the two confusing girls.

"Are you good friends with Miss Greengrass, Harry?" Dumbledore asked finally as they walked around the back of the castle.

"Not really," Harry said glancing up into Dumbledore's solemn face, "I sometimes see her at ministry parties, but we don't talk much at school. Why? If you don't mind me asking, sir."

"Of course I don't. And to answer your question there is no exact reason I can give you. I'm sure Miss Greengrass is a lovely lady, but she comes from a… questionable family. Nothing has ever been _proved, _of course." That _proved _held a world of meaning.

"With all due respect, sir, Daphne's always seemed nice to me, is not exactly friendly."

"Yes, of course, I meant no offence my boy. Now onto more pleasant subjects, I think. I would like to have a good long talk to you, I feel I've hardly seen you at all this summer, so why don't you stop by my office on Sunday for lunch? I shall have the house elves make some treacle tart for you, and some of that shortbread that I like so."

"Yeh, okay," Harry looked up again and was relieved to see Dumbledore was smiling, his blue eyes twinkling as always. He had always been a good friend of the Potters, and had come to be a sort of grandfather to Harry, especially since he had started at Hogwarts. Harry often had lunch with him at the weekends, and always enjoyed himself thoroughly.

"Good, I look forward to it. Now you had better get back to your common room, we'll both be in trouble if your father catches you out after curfew, and I have a few things to attend to."

"What things, sir?" Harry said eagerly.

Dumbledore gave him a meaningful look and Harry sighed, nodded and sighed again. It wouldn't be so bad, he thought as he made his way back to the castle, if he were involved in anything, or nothing at all. But all these hints were so frustrating, like he would know what they meant, if only he could figure out how they all fit together.

Most of the Ravenclaws were in the Common Room when he arrived back, but it was almost silent. He felt very out of place with his flushed cheeks and windswept hair, not helped by the fact that no less than three people shushed him when he greeted Anthony, Raggy and Padma a little too loudly.

They were sitting in the far corner of the room, crouched over essays that made Harry's head hurt just looking at them.

"You've been ages," Padma scolded as he sat down, "We were getting worried."

"I wasn't," Raggy said. She caught the end of her quill between her teeth then scratched out a sentence on her parchment.

"Me neither," Anthony said, tapping Raggy's parchment to make the scribble and the sentence disappear.

"Well I was," Padma said, "Curfew is in ten minutes!"

"I know," Harry said, staring out the window at the quickly darkening sky.

Padma frowned at him. "You okay? You look kind of down."

Raggy and Anthony both looked up, and eyed him critically.

"He looks fine to me," Anthony said, and Raggy nodded in agreement.

"Well I wasn't asking you, was I?"

A worried looking seventh year hushed them. Padma's face went red and she leant forward and spoke in whisper. "Are you alright, Harry? You were gone for a long time for just a walk."

"I got distracted and started drawing," Harry said in an equally quiet voice, "Then Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to me. I'm going to lunch with him on Sunday."

"It's so weird that you're friends with the Headmaster," Raggy said.

Harry shrugged and nodded. "He isn't like a Headmaster to me."

"Come on," Anthony said, folding his essay carefully and putting it into his bag, "Let's go pack our bags for tomorrow or we'll get too tired to bother. Then you should _at least _outline your essay, you'll regret it if you don't."

Harry thought this was probably true, so didn't protest. He went to the dormitory with Anthony and tipped his bag out on his bed. A piece parchment fluttered out and lay on top of the books. He picked up the first piece, and glance over the words written on it.

_Thought you might like a picture of your grandmother._

Stuck to the bottom was a photo of an old woman holding a baby, him, he assumed. She was wrinkled and frail, but her green eyes were alight with pleasure and she cooed down at the boy in her lap. As Harry watched, said boy grabbed a piece of her long white hair and pulled gently, then laughed and wriggled as the woman tickled him.

"What's that?" Anthony asked.

"Just a photo I found in my bag, someone must have slipped it in today."

"You don't know who?"

"No."

Anthony crossed the dormitory and looked over Harry's shoulder. "Who's writing is this?"

Harry looked closely at the note. The writing was neat and small, each letter printed individually, but was unrecognisable.

"Looks a bit too neat, doesn't it?" Anthony said, "Like someone doesn't want you to know who they are."

Harry groaned. "Come on, Anthony, I thought you'd grown out of that."

"Out of what?" Anthony said, offended.

"Being paranoid of every tiny thing and person. Remember in first year, when you were convinced something was hidden in the school, just because of a newspaper article and a rule that said we weren't to go to a certain corridor? And in second year, when you interrogated Moaning Myrtle just because a rumour went around that she was killed by some sort of monster? And what about in third year, when you thought Nearly Headless Nick was out to make some sort of ghost army?"

Anthony's face was red, but his expression was defiant. "I'll give you first and third Year, but in Second Year you _did _hear something, and that weird house elf kept following Neville around."

Harry dismissed this with a wave of his hand. "That house elf was nuts, and I _thought _I heard something _once,_ but I can't be sure."

"This is still strange," Anthony said, gesturing to the photo, "How did somebody get a picture of your grandma? And why not just give it to you? And why disguise their handwriting?"

"It was probably my mum wanting to surprise me," Harry said, "Or dad, his writing is worse than mine, if he hadn't made it neat I'd have no idea what the note said." Anthony did not look appeased. "I'll even go ask him now, if you want."

"You _can't_," Anthony said, horrified at the thought, "It's past curfew."

But Harry had taken to the idea. He grabbed his invisibility cloak, a present from his father in second year, and tossed it over himself.

"I'll be quick, you coming?"

"Absolutely not. And as a Prefect, I think you shouldn't either."

Harry just grinned, grabbed the photo and hurried downstairs. He was thankful the common room was so crowded, because it meant he could slip out easily and make his way to the Aurors' quarters unnoticed.

He didn't think his father would mind him being out after curfew, so he was surprised when James looked angry at his appearance and pulled him a little roughly inside.

"What are doing here? Curfew was fifteen minutes ago!"

"I know," Harry said, startled, "I just came to ask you something."

"Ask me something? Do you know how dangerous it is for you to be out? Half of the Aurors have gone to tea, if you'd been hurt there might not have been anyone to help you!"

Harry glared indignantly. "I had my cloak, and you're always telling me about how you used to sneak out-"

"I didn't have a madman after me!"

Harry blinked. "Neither do I."

James flushed guiltily and glanced around. For the first time Harry noticed Remus and Peter sitting on the sofa, both watching the display quietly. He felt his insides squirm with embarrassment that the two of them had seen him be told off.

"What was it you wanted to ask me?" James said finally.

"I found this in my bag, and wondered if you put it there," Harry said, handing over the photo and note a little sullenly.

"No, I didn't."

James gestured for Remus and Peter to come and look, but neither of them recognised it either. Remus cast a few detection spells, but there was nothing dark about the note or photo, nor did they have any trace of a magic signature.

"Have you gotten many notes like this?" James said.

"No, that's the only one," Harry said, "Can I have it back, since there's nothing wrong with it? I don't have many photos of her."

James hesitated.

"There's no reason for him not to have it," Remus said quietly.

James nodded slowly and handed the picture back to Harry. "I'm going to keep this though," He said, pocketing the note, "I'll show it to Alastor tomorrow and see what he makes of it. I want you to tell me if you get any more notes, okay? Good."

"Isn't it strange that in the photo she has straight hair? Didn't Lily always say it was curly?" Peter said suddenly.

They all turned to stare at him.

"There are ways of straightening hair, Peter," Remus said slowly.

"Right, of course," Peter gave a nervous titter, "Just curious."

"I'm going to take you back to the Common Room now, Harry," James said, turning back to his son, "And if you go out again after you've been told not to, I'll take that cloak off you."

Harry frowned at the floor and scuffed his shoe.

"Alright?" James sounded sterner than Harry had ever heard him.

"Fine," he muttered, reluctantly meeting James' eyes.

They looked at each other for a moment, then James smiled and clapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Come on then, put on your cloak and let's go."

They walked in silence through the dark corridors and for a while it seemed they were going to reach the Ravenclaw Tower without meeting anyone, but as they came to the staircase leading up to it they heard footsteps coming down towards them. James reached out to try and push Harry behind him, but his hand met with empty air.

"I'm here," Harry hissed from the step below.

James had no time to reply because Sirius Black was in front of him. The two men stared at each other for a few seconds, then James stepped back and gestured for Sirius to pass. But he didn't move.

"James…" His voice wavered and trailed off. He swallowed and tried again, "James, I've been trying to talk to you all day-"

"I don't want to talk to you," James snapped, and Harry was shocked at the sneer that crossed his face. He looked completely disgusted with Sirius. Then James' eyes narrowed. He looked to the Ravenclaw door then back to Sirius, then back to the door again. "What were you doing up there?"

"I was just-"

"Were you trying to see him?"

Harry was sure James meant him, and leaned around him to see Sirius better.

"Only because I had to, really," Sirius' voice was desperate and he clutched at James' sleeve, which was immediately yanked away. "Hermione Granger asked me to oversee their study group, and I felt I should make sure with Harry-"

"Don't say his name!"

The shout echoed all around, and a few seconds later the Ravenclaw door opened to show several curious faces peering out. James visibly forced himself to be calm, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

"Go back inside," he said without opening them.

After a few moments the door closed reluctantly, leaving the three of them alone again.

"Go, now," James said, opening his eyes, "And don't try to see him again."

Sirius didn't say anything, he gave James one last longing look, then walked past. Harry held his breath until his footsteps died away and James turned to him.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he said softly.

Harry shrugged off the cloak and James almost smiled at the sight of his distinctly ruffled son. Harry ignored this and pushed his glasses up from where they were slipping down his nose.

"Why are you so angry with him? Why can't he see me?"

James sighed. "Please leave it."

"No. I have a right to know."

James sighed again, and Harry almost, _almost_, gave in.

"Sirius Black used to be a very good friend of mine," James said finally, his words slow and careful, "But just after you were born he stopped coming to see me, stopped writing, cancelled plans, wouldn't answer my letters, the whole shebang. I tried to see him, of course, but he quit his job, he used to be an Auror, and moved house without telling me. I only knew he was alive because he sometimes wrote to Peter, but never Remus nor me.

"I was very confused, and very angry for a long time, but after a while I stopped expecting him to talk to me, to show up at parties, to help us in emergencies, and that helped. I hadn't seen him in almost fifteen years until this summer, at the Order meetings. A couple of things came to light there, it turns out he and your mother had an argument, and that's why he abandoned us."

Harry frowned as he thought through all of this. "But couldn't you make it up?" He said after several long moments, "Or even if you couldn't, why are you so angry? And what does it have to with me?"

James looked at him, and for a second Harry got the feeling he was going to be told something huge, but then James shook his head and said, "Nothing. Nothing at all. I would have been angry at him for wanting to read a book if we'd met him in the library, it has nothing to do with you at all. Now go to bed, I love you."

He pulled Harry into a sudden, tight hug. Harry hugged back, but his mind was whirling. For some reason he couldn't quite believe James right then, which was stupid because his dad had never lied to him. Honesty was something James valued more anything else, except perhaps loyalty, and Harry knew this. So why did his brain insist that there was more to it that what he'd been told?

* * *

_I warn you, now I'm behind (and it's only the fourth chapter… good going me) this story will be really fast paced. I might do a sequel if I feel like it to explore this world a bit better, but in this story it's pretty much going to be plot all the time. Leave me a review please :)_

_**fatesmark, kail420, pkp033, Rago Dragovian: **__Thanks_

_**Smile Sweetly, Laugh Loudly: **__Thanks a lot, originally I was going to make Harry a Gryffindor and have him be friends with Ron and slightly Hermione, but then this world invaded my head and I loved it so… :)_

_**Anrheithwyr: **__Thanks, all questions will be answered soon :)_

_**TraduccionesNorti: **__Thank you. I'm not going to work really hard on making Harry's friends likable, simply because they aren't a big part of this story and I don't have time to work on every single relationship and character a lot, if I do a sequel they'll be developed a bit more. I hope you like their characters a bit more now though, I've tried to show them as much as I could in this chapter :) _


	5. Chapter 5

_For _Anrheithwyr_'s _What If? Competition.

Prompts used: None this time

Description: With study clubs to "run", Voldemort coming back and trying to befriend The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has enough to deal with in his fifth year of school without having to figure out what the mysterious notes he's been getting mean.

Rating: T

_Disclaimer: Nope. No ownership. I wish._

* * *

"…_a fool, unable to get the sssimplest tassk right!" _

_A small bundle of robes squirmed in its armchair, and a long pale hand extended towards something in a corner. A large snake uncoiled itself and glided across the dusty floor, hissing as it went. Harry was positive he shouldn't understand what it was saying any yet the words were clear as English. _

"_There isss no russh. The boy knowsss nothing."_

"_But every day he getss ssstronger, Nagini, and I become weaker."_

"_Sssoon. Ssoon the cabinet will be ready." _

"_Not ssoon enough!"_

_There was a timid knock at the door and somebody outside opened it to let in a tall, pale figure. It was closed quickly behind them, and they cast a few spells before going to stand in front on the thing wrapped in robes. Harry shivered, a cold dread stealing through him as the figure walked across the room. He held his breath as they stepped into a shaft of moonlight, preparing for something horrific and evil. The next moment was very anticlimactic. No twisted features, just a normal boyish face, handsome even. _

"_Everything iss going to plan, I take it?" The Thing said._

"_Yes, but it would be quicker if you would just let me-"_

"_No," The Thing cut him off, "We need her. Don't worry, ssoon we will both be strong." _

_The man narrowed his dark eyes. "Not soon enough! Every day he is stronger, more powerful. We have to act now!"_

_They were both quiet for what seemed like a very long time, then The Thing said, "Perhapss you're right. But first, a test, to see how strong he really isss." _

Harry woke with a jolt. Pale sunlight streamed through the window and onto his bed, pushing its way through the thick mist that hung over the grounds like a cloak. He could hear his four roommates breathing deeply, enjoying their last precious hour of sleep, and the birds tweeting merrily outside.

Any other morning, Harry would have rolled over and gone back to sleep, but he felt very out of sorts. He grasped at his dream, but it was fading away like tendrils of smoke. The thing in the… was it in a chair? There were two people! Or three… He sighed and threw back the covers, knowing he'd be annoyed about it for the rest of the day.

By the time he'd showered and dressed, the other boys were getting up, dressing slowly and communicating in grunts and vague gestures. Anthony glanced up and looked vaguely surprised to see Harry ready before him, but was obviously still too sleepy to question it.

"You 'right?" He managed when Harry flopped onto his bed. A moment later he poked Harry sleepily. "Up. We're gonna have breakfast, then finish essays-" he was cut off by a huge yawn.

"Sure you'll be able to?" Harry said.

Anthony gave him a half-hearted glare and poked again. Harry reluctantly got up and followed him down to the Great Hall, but couldn't bring himself to eat much. He watched people instead, namely Sirius. That niggling feeling that his father had been lying had not gone away over night, but seemed to have intensified. He couldn't imagine Sirius just abandoning his friend because of a silly fight, he had been so eager to try and talk to James last night. Sirius met Harry's eyes for a second, then got up and left the hall abruptly.

That morning found him holed up in the Common Room, working diligently on his essay under Anthony's watchful eyes. After the third time the other boy had given it back to him with dozens of corrections, Harry had had enough.

"I'm going out, anyone want to come?"

Nobody did, and Harry walked out alone. As he went down the main staircase, Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan came past him the other way, all laughing loudly. A small ache began to form in his chest as their conversation faded away. It took a minute to place it, but when he did he almost laughed out loud. Lonely. He was fucking lonely.

He walked briskly out into the cool air, feeling more and more isolated the more people he passed. Everyone seemed to be with someone, a friend or partner. Even Tracey Sodding Davis was with a group of friends. She looked up then, as if feeling his eyes on her, and narrowed her eyes. She said something to Pansy, then strode towards him.

Harry met her half way and smiled lightly. "Anything wrong, Tracey?"

"Yes, actually," she said crisply, "I want to know what you did to Daphne."

"What do you mean? Is she hurt?"

She looked at him scornfully. "_I_ don't know. _I_ wasn't the one who bewitched her."

"I didn't do anything to her," Harry said frowning, "Why? What's wrong with her?"

"She acting… weird."

"Weird?"

"Yes, weird. She's blank, or something. Won't react to anything, she's hardly said one word to me since last night, when she was talking to _you_, and when she does speak she's all… sarcastic."

"Maybe she angry with you-"

"She's not! Something's wrong. What did you do?"

"Nothing. She came and sat by me and barely said a word, she didn't react then either."

She raised her eyebrows disbelievingly and he sighed and shrugged. "You're obviously not going to believe me whatever I say. I didn't do anything to Daphne, she's probably just in a bad mood. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He walked away until he found a fairly unoccupied space on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then slumped against a tree. He tried to finish a sketch of Hagrid's hut, but his pencil felt foreign in his hand and the angles came out all wrong. He threw the pad aside roughly and tipped his head back, eyes closed. Despite his unconcerned words to Tracey, he couldn't quite shake the feeling she was right. Daphne had been acting oddly the previous evening.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sat there when a sharp snap from behind caused him to scramble up and whirl around. A girl stood a little way in front of him under a large tree. Her face was hidden in the shadow of her hood and her wand was held loosely in her hand. Harry's heart accelerated and his hands began to tingle. He pulled out his wand, trying not to panic.

"Harry." The soft, echoing whisper swirled around him like a breeze and Harry relaxed slightly.

"Hi, Daphne. What're you doing?"

Daphne stepped forward into the light. Her face was very pale and her eyes were dreamy and unfocused. The hand she slipped into Harry's was very cold.

"Come with me. I want to show you something," she said, smiling vaguely and looking at a spot just over his shoulder.

"Why don't we go back to the castle?" Harry said warily, "You don't look well, we can go see Madam Pomfrey-"

"No, I need to show something. Come on."

She tugged at his hand insistently and Harry reluctantly allowed her to lead him further into the forest.

"Where are we going?" he said as they walked further and further into the darkness.

"Not far. I want to show you something."

"Tracey thinks something's wrong with you-"

"Nothing's wrong with me," she said with a shrill laugh that made the hairs on Harry's neck stand up.

He swallowed and stopped, trying to pull his hand out of hers. Her grip tightened and she looked at him angrily.

"Come on!" she said, yanking his arm so he stumbled forward a few steps.

"I really think we should go back-"

"No! You _have _to come with me. It will only take a second."

Her eyes looked grey in the dim light and they shone with wild fervour as she pulled him through the trees. Something cold settled in his stomach, but every time he tried to stop she pulled him harder. They finally stopped in a small clearing, so sheltered by trees that hardly any light was able to push its way in.

"What did you want to show-"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

His muscles suddenly locked, his arms and legs snapping together, and he fell back against a tree and began to slide down. Daphne waved her wand and he was standing again, tied tightly to the tree with thick rope. His muscles relaxed, but he couldn't move an inch. Panic rushed through him as he struggled against the tight bindings. His wand was still in his hand and he tried to subtly angle it towards the ropes. Daphne caught the movement and took his wand with an almost casual flick of her own.

"Daphne, what are doing?" he said, just managing to keep the fear out of his tone.

She looked slightly confused, but answered promptly, "I have to show you something."

"What are you-? I'm not stupid. I know you don't have to show me anything."

"I have to show you something," she repeated. "I have to show you something. I have to show you something. I have to show-"

On and on she went, repeating the same thing, each time sounding the same thing more and more panicked. Oddly this calmed Harry, and he found himself able to think straight again.

"Daphne. Daphne!"

She stopped and looked at him with wild eyes, then whirled around as if looking for someone. "What now?" she called out, "What do I do now?"

"Daphne. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry," she cried, pulling at her hair, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to do. I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to- They made-"

She stopped suddenly, her whole body halting and freezing. A moment later Harry knew why. An icy cold dread washed over him. Sank through his skin. He shivered and tried to back away, to escape from the shame and terror.

"Daphne, please untie me," he begged.

Daphne was very pale, but took a shaky step towards him. Then turned on her heel and ran. He couldn't bring himself to call after her. There was a soft whisper of a cloak and rattling breathing echoed around. It was in front of him. Scabby hands reached out to grip his shoulders and-

"_Go. Take the boys upstairs. _Now_, Frank!"_

"_I'll be back in a minute!"_

_Crashing and a high, cold laugh. Two screams. A blur of colour as the light switched on. Confusion. Where are mum and dad? Who is this? Neville whimpering softly. A sharp burst of flutters and tingles. White light. A terrible scream. A rush. Whole again. Complete._

The bright light hurt Harry's eyes and he squeezed them shut again, then cautiously opened them bit by bit and looked around. He was in the Hospital Wing. His mother and father sat by his bed, both looking pale and tired.

"What's going on?" he said, trying in vain to remember why he was here. Daphne had led him somewhere, and- "The dementor!"

He sat up and tried to climb out of bed, but four hands immediately restrained him.

"Lie back, don't move just yet," Lily said, pushing him gently but firmly back onto the pillow.

"But the dementor-"

"It's fine. You're fine. Ginny got it away from you."

Fluttering hands patted at his hair and face as she spoke, finally settling on his shoulders and pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Ginny Weasley?" Harry said, words muffled slightly.

James' hand came to rest on the back of his neck and he rubbed gently as he spoke. "Yes, Ginny Weasley. She saw you go into the woods with Daphne Greengrass and was worried. She cast a patronus when she saw the dementor and ran to get help."

"Ginny can cast a patronus?" Harry said, unable to picture Ginny anywhere near happy enough to."

"Yes, we tested the last spell on her wand, definitely a patronus. Now, you want to tell us why you were going in the _Forbidden _Forest?"

Lily pulled away, frowning at her husband. "James-"

"No Lily, this is important. We need to make sure his story matches hers. We need to make sure she's not- she's not-"

He turned away, swiping savagely at his eyes.

"Tell us what happened, sweetheart," Lily said, "Just tell us what happened, from the beginning."

Harry told them, his hands twisting in the sheets anxiously as he watched the emotions flick over his parents face. Confusion. Fear. Anger. To his horror, tears began to well in his mother's eyes as he described the memory the dementor had caused. By the time he'd finished they were both crying. The soft, quiet crying that hurt much worse than anything else. What was worse, he had no idea why.

"It wasn't Daphne's fault," he tried, "I think somebody made her."

"They- They did," Lily said, her voice thick and shaky, "There were traces of opprimere flexibilis in her system. It's a potion, acts like the imperius but not as strong and completely untraceable."

"Then why are you crying?"

They exchanged a long, meaningful look.

"We just wish you hadn't had to go through that," James said.

"I'm alright," Harry said, still unsure as to what to say.

"We know that, champ," James said, cuffing his head gently, "You're strong. It doesn't make it any easier. Here now, eat this chocolate and have a nap, you'll feel much better when you wake up.

Harry took the bar and bit into it. He sighed softly as warmth spread through his veins, fogging up his head and making his eyes heavy.

"Is Daphne okay?" he managed before sleep took him completely.

"She's fine. She's sleeping now. You can see her when you wake up."

* * *

_Yes, I'm a terrible person for making you wait so long, but please dear readers (if there are any of you left :P) review. If you do you get a kitten! (notreallybutplease?)_


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